Top court tells Allegan to limit how it bills criminals

Friday

Jun 20, 2014 at 12:00 PM

By Jim.Hayden@hollandsentinel.com(616) 546-4274

The Michigan Supreme Court on Wednesday ruled criminal defendants can't be billed for the costs of running the local courthouse, overturning an Allegan County court decision and affecting how judges levy fines.Allegan County Circuit Court collected $195,000 in 2013 from these now invalidated charges.Officials from Allegan and Ottawa circuit courts did not return calls Thursday about how the decision will impact their courts.In March 2011, Frederick L. Cunningham acquired a drug from a pharmacy by using a forged prescription and pleaded guilty in Allegan County Circuit Court. He was sentenced to 12 to 48 months imprisonment and was ordered to pay $130 for a crime victim's rights assessment, $68 in state costs and $1,000 in unspecified “court costs,” according to court documents.Cunningham moved to have that $1,000 reduced to reflect the actual amount incurred by court in connection with his case. The Allegan court calculated the cost per criminal case to be $1,238.48 — $462.84 for the circuit court's operating expenses, $563.15 to attorney costs and $212.48 to clerk and deputy costs.The Court of Appeals upheld the Allegan court's ruling in 2012.Judges statewide have used their discretion to order local court costs, citing a 2006 law that refers to the ability to impose “any cost,” according to an earlier Associated Press report. The attorney general's office defended the practice, saying the Legislature could have restricted the meaning of the law, but didn't.Allegan County Circuit Court Administrator Michael Day defended the practice as well earlier this year, saying the money helps fund the court.“The money that comes back here certainly assists the county. The county is our funding unit,” he said in a March Associated Press story.The circuit court's 2013 expenses were $928,184, according to the county budget. The 2014 budget is just over $1 million.The state Supreme Court overturned the appeals court ruling on Wednesday, saying judges can't order costs that aren't authorized by the Legislature.Cunningham's attorney, Anne Yantus, said the new ruling should greatly reduce the financial burdens on convicts who often have no ability to pay.— The Associated Press contributed to this report. Follow Jim Hayden on Twitter@SentinelJim.